Month: May 2018

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this day in 1929, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences handed out its first awards at a dinner party held at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, Calif.  The silent film Wings won the award for best picture.

May 16, 1961 – John F. Kennedy starts three-day visit to Ottawa. Ottawa, Ontario See: (CBC Archives: Camelot comes to Canada

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins today in many countries. 

It starts with the sighting of the crescent moon the night before; regions where it is not seen will wait a day. 

Learning to read the Quran at a school in India during Ramadan last year.
Jayanta Dey/Reuters 

From dawn to sunset, observant Muslims give up food, water and bodily pleasures. Most try to go about their normal routines, while making time for more prayer and charity. It can be a particular challenge for some people, like athletes. 

Mosques hold extra prayers, called tarawih, each evening, during which the entire Quran is recited over the month. 

It’s a time for reflection — but also for celebration. People hold festive gatherings to break the fast together. Each culture has specialties for the evening meal, iftar, and for the pre-dawn meal, suhoor. 

The Muslim lunar calendar is 10 days shorter than the solar year, so Ramadan rotates through the seasons. Winter fasts are considered easier — the days are shorter, and usually colder, meaning less thirst — while summer fasts are more taxing. They are even harder in upper latitudes, where the days are long and the sun doesn’t set. So communities follow the times of the nearest Muslim country, or those of Saudi Arabia. 

The traditional greeting during the holiday month? “Ramadan Mubarak.” 

Aisha Khan wrote today’s Back Story, New York Times, 5/16/2018.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Visitors admire artist Luke Jerram’s installation Museum of the Moon at Tintern Abbey In Chepstow, Wales. The artwork, unveiled as part of the Wye Valley River Festival, involves a replica of the moon, seven metres in diameter, hanging within the ruined Abbey accompanied by music. Credit: Ben Birchall/PA

A lion cub pulls its sibling’s tail in Kenya Masai Mara game reserve. Credit: Paul Goldstein/Cover Images Artist Chris Naylor, who was commissioned by bookmakers Ladbrokes to recreate the official

Engagement picture of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry onto a 16 metre by 16 metre stretch of land on a farm in Braintree, Essex. Naylor spent over 40 hours, creating the masterpiece, using a lawnmower, trimmer and a handful of garden tools. Credit: Andy Bell/PA

The Mayfair Flower Show at sketch in Conduit St, central London, celebrates the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Here” ‘Impressionist Love’ inspired by Monet’s Garden in Giverny by Rebel Rebel and ‘Something Blue’ based on a North African oasis by Tony Marklew. Credit: Paul Grover for The Telegraph
Market Closes for May 16^th, 2018

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	24768.93	+62.52   +0.25%
S&P 500	2722.46	+11.01   +0.41%
NASDAQ	7398.297	+46.670   +0.63%
TSX	16108.06	+10.25
		+0.06%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22717.23	-100.79
		-0.44%
HANG SENG	31110.20	-41.83
		-0.13%
SENSEX	35387.88	-156.06
		-0.44%
FTSE 100*	7734.20	+11.22
		+0.15%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		2.502		2.487
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.514		2.2515
U.S.    10 Year Bond		3.0964		3.0723
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.2172		3.1974

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.78181	0.77682
US $	1.27909	1.28730
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.51082	0.66189
US $	1.18117	0.84662

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1295.00	1319.85
Oil
WTI Crude Future	71.49	71.31

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
$166 billion
The amount U.S. companies are expected to have spent on factories, equipment, and other capital expenditures in the first quarter.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a ninth day, the longest advance since 2014, led by Canadian National Railway Co. and First Quantum Minerals Ltd.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 10 points or 0.1 percent to 16,108.06, about 300 points away from its all-time high reached in January. Industrials were the biggest gainers, rising 0.6 percent as CN Rail added 2.4 percent, reaching a 10-month high. The railroad’s CEO said Tuesday that it’s overcoming service issues faster than expected.
     Energy stocks lost 0.4 percent even as Canadian crude prices traded at the narrowest gap with West Texas Intermediate since October.
     In other moves:
                         Stocks
* Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. rose 2 percent after Canada said it’s prepared to reimburse the company for any “politically motivated” delays to its proposed pipeline expansion
* Linamar Corp. lost 5.9 percent, the most since November. The auto supplier’s earnings miss indicates the challenges of generating consistent momentum late in the cycle, BMO said
* Callidus Capital Corp. fell 2.3 percent as its first-quarter loss widened from a year ago
                        Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $13.50 discount to WTI
* Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,291.50 an ounce
                        FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.7 percent to C$1.2790 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose two basis points to 2.50 percent, the highest since April 2014
US
By Jeremy Herron
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced and 10-year Treasury yields pushed toward 3.1 percent as retailer results and solid economic data boosted confidence in the American economy. The euro fell amid political uncertainty in Italy.
     The S&P 500 Index rose above its average price for the past 100 days and the Russell 2000 Index hit an all-time high. The 10-year note yield advanced anew as factory production and housing starts showed strength in the economy. Europe’s common currency fell as Italy moved closer to a populist government and the German chancellor cautioned that the region’s central bank will eventually ease stimulus.
     Emerging-market equities rebounded after Tuesday’s plunge, but developing currencies turned lower. The Turkish lira reversed a drop after the central bank said it was monitoring markets and would take necessary steps. In Asia stocks nudged lower, with shares in Japan and Hong Kong declining while Australia’s main gauge eked out a gain and Korean stocks were little changed. The Malaysian ringgit fell for a sixth day.
     Investors pushed American stocks higher on speculation that the world’s largest economy will continue to pick up steam after a lackluster first-quarter. Macy’s Inc. results bolstered the sense that consumers remain on strong footing, overcoming fresh uncertainty about the U.S.-North Korea summit continued to weigh on investor sentiment at the same time the Trump administration sends mixed signals on the state of play on negotiations with China over trade.
     The question has now turned to whether higher Treasury yields, which act as a benchmark for global borrowing costs, indicate that the Federal Reserve will be forced accelerate monetary tightening.
     These are some key events to watch this week:
* Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is expected in Washington for more trade talks.
* U.S. industrial production numbers are due this week.

     These are the main moves in markets:
                            Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.4 percent at 4 p.m. in New York. It fell Tuesday for the first time in five days.
* The Russell 2000 added 1 percent to reclaim its record. The index is higher by more than 5 percent in 2018.
* Macy’s jumped 11 percent and consumer-products makers paced gains in the equity benchmark.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.2 percent to the highest in almost 15 weeks on the largest gain in a week.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 0.5 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.1 percent.
                            Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell less than 0.1 percent, after reaching the highest in 20 weeks.
* The euro fell 0.3 percent to $1.1807.
* The Japanese yen increased 0.2 percent to 110.16 per dollar.
* The Turkish lira climbed 0.5 percent to 4.4247 per dollar
                              Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 3.096 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield dipped five basis points to 0.60 percent, the largest decrease in almost two weeks.
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 1.491 percent.
* Italy’s 10-year yield climbed 13 basis points to 2.08 percent, the highest in three months on the largest increase in almost 11 months.
                              Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude declined 0.6 percent to $70.89 a barrel.
* Gold dipped 0.3 percent to $1,287.24 an ounce, the weakest in 20 weeks.
* Brent crude declined 0.7 percent to $77.85 a barrel, the biggest drop in more than a week.
–With assistance from Ruth Carson, Andreea Papuc and Samuel Potter. 

Have a great night.

 

Be magnificent!

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

A short saying oft contains much wisdom.
   -Sophocles, 479/496 BC-406/405 BC

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

May 15, 1893 – First Stanley Cup presented to the Montreal Hockey Club (MHC).

Rockefeller Art Smashes Records at Christie’s: At $646 million, the sale is the largest by a single owner ever held at auction.

NASA”s Goddard Space Flight Center released a virtual tour of the moon, Tour of the Moon in 4K, which provides more insight into the area we may think we know.  Our highlight is seeing the bottom half of the Apollo 17 lunar lander, which is still on the moon.  Find the video at http://bit.ly/tourofthemoon .  -CSM, May 7, 2018

Henry James, writer, b. May 15, 1843.

Live all you can – it’s a mistake not to.  It doesn’t matter what you do in particular, so long as you have your life.  If you haven’t had that, what have you had? -Henry James.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A meadow of wildflowers comes into bloom on the Northumberland coastline near Bamburgh Castle. Credit: Paul Kingston/NNP

A small snail is reflected in rainwater covering a wooden floor after a shower in a garden in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany. Credit: Frank Rumpenhorst/AFP/Getty Images

Marguerites are in full blossom on a meadow in the outskirts of Frankfurt, Germany. Credit: Michael Probst/AP
Market Closes for May 15^th, 2018

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	24706.41	-193.00   -0.78%
S&P 500	2711.45	-18.68   -0.68%
NASDAQ	7351.629	-59.686   -0.81%
TSX	16097.81	+12.20
		+0.08%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22818.02	-47.84
		-0.21%
HANG SENG	31152.03	-389.05
		-1.23%
SENSEX	35543.94	-12.77
		-0.04%
FTSE 100*	7722.98	+12.00
		+0.16%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		2.487		2.424
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.2515		2.460
U.S.    10 Year Bond		3.0723		3.0006
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.1974		3.1315

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77682	0.78069
US $	1.28730	1.28092
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.52416	0.65610
US $	1.18408	0.84454

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1319.85	1324.35
Oil
WTI Crude Future	71.31	70.96

Market Commentary:
$~On this day in 1911, the Supreme Court upheld the U.S. government’s decision to break up John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Co. on the grounds that it was such a powerful monopoly that it violated the “rule of reason.”
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks eked out an eighth consecutive gain as Air Canada and pot producer Aphria Inc. helped to propel the health care and industrial sectors higher.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 12 points or 0.1 percent to 16,097.81, the highest close since Jan. 26. The benchmark is the third-best performer among developed markets this month, behind Portugal and New Zealand.
     Health-care stocks rose 1.7 percent as Aphria Inc. gained 7.5 percent. The company has been left out of the recent barrage of deal-making in the cannabis space.
     Industrials added 0.8 percent as Air Canada rose 4.4 percent, the most in three months. The airline has identified about half of its planned cost cuts and is encouraged by success in pushing through fare hikes, its chief financial officer said.
     In other moves:
                          Stocks
* Element Fleet Management Corp. jumped 12 percent to the highest since February after investors were encouraged by a new CEO and a clean earnings report
* Premium Brands Holdings Corp. rose 3.9 percent after earlier falling as much as 4.7 percent. While first-quarter profit missed estimates, the company boosted its 2018 sales and Ebitda guidance
* Boyd Group Income Fund rose 4.8 percent, the most in a year, as results beat expectations
                         Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $13.50 discount to WTI, the narrowest gap since October
* Gold tumbled 2.1 percent to $1,290.30 an ounce, the lowest since December, as the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields rose
                         FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.4 percent to C$1.2867 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose six basis points to 2.48 percent, the highest in more than four years
US
By Jeremy Herron and Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks halted a four-day rally with the steepest slide in almost two weeks, while 10-year Treasury yields pushed to levels last seen in 2011 as investors weigh the prospect for higher Federal Reserve rates.
     The S&P 500 Index slumped as health-care and tech shares retreated. The Treasury selloff sent note yields to 3.07 percent. Higher rates sap demand for equities that have been on a tear for two weeks. Upbeat retail sales data fueled bets the Fed may raise rates three more times this year, pushing Bloomberg’s dollar index to its 2018 high. Emerging-market equities dropped the most since March. Gold fell below $1,300 an ounce for the first time since December.
     Investors grappled with trade, growth, and geopolitical worries as a risk aversion spread across assets. Rising yields, a stronger dollar and sliding stocks are fast becoming a familiar and uncomfortable cocktail for investors. Now violence in the Middle East, the U.S.-China trade spat, uncertainty on Italy’s government and global growth concerns are helping cement the prevailing sentiment.
     “Markets don’t know where to look, they don’t know where to focus,” said Samantha Azzarello, global market strategist for JPMorgan ETFs, in an interview at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters. “It’s odd — rates are going up and we’re late cycle, and then volatility is back after volatility being so low, almost painfully low. And then I think clouds of uncertainty coming from Washington and geopolitics lays on top of all of it.”
     European equities were mixed but benchmarks fell in South Korea and Australia earlier, and in Hong Kong after data signaled investment slowing in China. Shanghai shares bucked the declines as the same numbers showed economic momentum broadly holding The euro slid following disappointing German growth data. Despite the sour mood, established safe-haven assets failed to catch a bid. Gold and the yen dropped, and the Swiss franc weakened.
     Elsewhere, the Turkish lira hit a new low, plunging after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he intends to tighten his grip on the economy and take more responsibility for monetary policy if he wins an election next month. Emerging-market stocks slumped.
     These are some key events to watch this week:
* China plans to send Vice Premier Liu He to Washington for more trade talks.
* European Union Chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier briefs European affairs ministers on the status of talks with the U.K.
* U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May meets with her Brexit cabinet Tuesday to discuss plans for a post-withdrawal customs union.
* U.S. industrial production numbers are due this week.
     These are the main moves in markets:
                          Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.9 percent at 3:20 p.m. in New York.
* The Nasdaq 100 Index lost 1.4 percent and small caps were little changed.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index declined 1 percent, the first retreat in a week.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index declined 1.7 percent, the first retreat in more than a week and the biggest tumble in almost seven weeks.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank 1.1 percent, the largest decrease in almost seven weeks.
                          Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.6 percent to the highest in almost 20 weeks.
* The euro declined 0.7 percent to $1.1846.
* The British pound dipped 0.3 percent to $1.3510.
* The Japanese yen dipped 0.7 percent to 110.375 per dollar, the weakest in 16 weeks.
                          Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries jumped seven basis points to 3.07 percent, the highest in about seven years.
* The two-year rate climbed three basis points to 2.576 percent, the highest since 2008.
* Germany’s 10-year yield increased three basis points to 0.64 percent, the highest in more than two months.
                          Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose to settle at $71.31 a barrel.
* Copper futures decreased 1.1 percent to $3.06 a pound.
* Gold futures fell 2 percent to $1,291.60 an ounce.
–With assistance from Samuel Potter and Sophie Caronello. 

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures.
                  -Jessamyn West, 1902-1984

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1914 – Dingman Discovery No.1 in Turner Valley ushers in Alberta Oil Industry.

MIDNIGHT SUN, until July 30, Norway
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

An aerial view of newly built mosque complex that was built over 125,000 square meters is seen in Ankara, Turkey. The compound that has meal center, 60 Turkish bazaars, Turkish baths and handicraft facilities is planning to be opened at the beginning of Eid al-Fitr. Credit: The Telegraph

Lava erupts from a fissure east of the Leilani Estates subdivision during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii. Credit: The Telegraph
Market Closes for May 14^th, 2018

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	24899.41	+68.24   +0.27%
S&P 500	2730.13	+2.41   +0.09%
NASDAQ	7411.316	+8.433   +0.11%
TSX	16085.61	+102.29
		+0.64%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22865.86	+107.38
		+0.47%
HANG SENG	31541.08	+419.02
		+1.35%
SENSEX	35556.71	+20.92
		+0.06%
FTSE 100*	7710.98	-13.57
		-0.18%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		2.424		2.377
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.460		2.406
U.S.    10 Year Bond		3.0006		2.9677
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.1315		3.1017

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.78069	0.78146
US $	1.28092	1.27966
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.52787	0.65451
US $	1.19279	0.83837

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1324.35	1318.80
Oil
WTI Crude Future	70.96	70.70

Market Commentary:
$$ Fun tweet: Neil deGrasse Tyson, over the weekend: “Not that anybody asked, but @JeffBezos’ 130-Billion dollars, laid end-to-end, can circle Earth 200 times then reach the Moon & back 15 times then, with what’s left over, circle Earth another 8 times.”
Number of the Day
$4 billion
The amount of money that investors have pulled from emerging-market bond funds over the past three weeks as the dollar’s rise spooked investors.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed within 2 percent of their all-time high, bolstered by trade-related optimism and a cannabis producer’s decision to list in the U.S.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.6 percent to 16,085.60, the benchmark’s seventh consecutive gain and the first close above 16,000 since Jan. 29. It peaked at 16,412.94 on Jan. 4.
     Health-care stocks gained 1.2 percent as Canopy Growth Corp. jumped 6.9 percent. Canopy has applied to become the first pot producer listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
     Consumer discretionary stocks gained 1.8 percent as Magna International Inc. added 3.7 percent amid two new outperform ratings from analysts who say the auto supplier is set to benefit from tech-related growth.
     In other moves:
                         Stocks
* Aurora Cannabis Inc. fell 2 percent and MedReleaf rose 1.7 percent. Aurora is buying MedReleaf for C$2.9 billion, the biggest deal in Canada’s marijuana industry
* Element Fleet Management Corp. gained 10 percent, the most since October. The company appointed a new chief executive officer and said founder Steve Hudson will step down from the board
* The Stars Group Inc. added 10 percent to a record high after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal law that bans betting on individual sporting events in most of the country
                         Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $15.25 discount to WTI
* Gold fell 0.2 percent to $1,318.20 an ounce
                         FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1 percent to C$1.2805 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose four basis points to 2.42 percent, the highest since 2014
US
By Jeremy Herron and Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks ended the day little changed in light trading, while the 10-year Treasury yield topped 3 percent as investors assess the outlook for trade relations and tensions in the Middle East. Crude oil rose.
     The S&P 500 Index eked out a small gain on volume 17 percent below the 30-day average. Technology indexes remained higher, boosted by President Donald Trump’s easing of tension in a trade spat with China. Oil pushed higher as the Gaza Strip erupted over the U.S.’s moving of its embassy to Jerusalem. Rate-sensitive shares slumped as Treasury yields popped above 3 percent. The dollar advanced versus a basket of major peers.
     Trump’s shock move on China’s ZTE provided a sign that he may be open to easing trade tensions ahead of a meeting in Washington with Chinese officials this week. A slew of Federal Reserve officials speak in the five days, with investors looking for clues on the pace of monetary tightening. In Europe, political pressures remain high as Italian populists near completion of a government plan, Britain faces a crunch week over Brexit, and the U.S. formally moves its embassy to Jerusalem.
     Elsewhere, oil traded near $71 a barrel as the United Arab Emirates said OPEC has enough spare production capacity to mitigate any impact on crude markets if the U.S. re-imposes sanctions on Iran. Earlier, most Asian markets advanced, and Malaysian stocks recovered from an early slide on the first trading day after last week’s unprecedented election result.
     These are some key events to watch this week:
* China plans to send Vice Premier Liu He to Washington for more trade talks.
* European Union Chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier briefs European affairs ministers on the status of talks with the U.K.
* China releases data including industrial production and retail sales figures Tuesday.
* U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May meets with her Brexit cabinet Tuesday to discuss plans for a post-withdrawal customs union.
* U.S. retail sales, industrial production are due this week.
* Vodafone Group, Home Depot, Credit Agricole, Tencent, Cisco Systems, Burberry Group, Walmart, Vivendi, AstraZeneca, Deere, Fujifilm, Noble Group, and Campbell Soup are among the companies releasing earnings this week.
     These are the main moves in markets:
                           Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent at 4 p.m. in New York. It rose as much as 0.5 percent earlier in the session.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.3 percent
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index advanced 0.2 percent, on its sixth straight advance.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2 percent after erasing a decline.
* The euro slipped 0.1 percent to $1.1935.
* The British pound rose 0.1 percent to $1.3561.
                            Bonds
* The yield on two-year Treasuries increased one basis point to 2.54 percent, hitting the highest in almost 10 years with its seventh straight advance.
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained three basis points to 3.0006 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield increased five basis points to 0.61 percent, the highest in almost three weeks.
                            Commodities
* Gold futures fell 0.5 percent to $1,313.90 an ounce.
* West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.6 percent to $71.10 a barrel.
–With assistance from Cormac Mullen, John Ainger and Natasha Doff. 

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

Nobody got anywhere in the world by simply being content.
                                           -Louis L’Amour, 1908-1988

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On May 11, 1973, charges against Daniel Ellsberg for his role in the Pentagon Papers case were dismissed by Judge William M. Byrne, who cited government misconduct. 
Go to article »

This Sunday is Mother’s Day.  The NY Times ran some great recipes today of what to prepare for Mom.  This one looks like a great brunch item:

More-Vegetable-Than-Egg Frittata
MARK BITTMAN

• YIELD 2 or 4 servings
• TIME  30 minutes

This simple frittata — just eggs, vegetables, fresh herbs and a little Parmesan if you’re feeling luxurious — is proof that eating well doesn’t have to be deprivational. It can also be delicious.

Featured in: When Diet Meets Delicious.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ onion, sliced (optional)
•  Salt and black pepper
• 4 to 6 cups of any chopped or sliced raw or barely cooked vegetables
• ¼ cup fresh basil or parsley leaves, or 1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon or mint leaves, or any other herb
• 2 or 3 eggs
• ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

PREPARATION

Put olive oil in a skillet (preferably nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron) and turn heat to medium. When fat is hot, add onion, if using, and cook, sprinkling with salt and pepper, until it is soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add vegetables, raise heat and cook, stirring occasionally until they soften, from a couple of minutes for greens to 15 minutes for sliced potatoes. Adjust heat so vegetables brown a little without scorching. (With precooked vegetables, just add them to onions and stir before proceeding.)

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A lava flow moving on Makamae Street in Leilani Estates, Hawaii. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

German Artist Michael Pendry (picture) has hung 2500 origami doves in the nave of Salisbury Cathedral in an installation called Les Colombes. It opens to the public Saturday May 12^th. Credit: Jay Williams for The Telegraph

Actresses Fan Binbing, Marion Cotillard, director Simon Kinberg, with actresses Jessica Chastain, Penelope Cruz and Lupita Nyong’o attend the photocall for “355” during the 71^st annual Cannes Film Festival at Majestic Beach Pier. Credit: Antony Jones/Getty Images

South China tiger (Pantheratigris amoyensis) cub triplets born in Hangzhou, China. Credit: Wang Gang/China News Service/VCG Via Getty Images
Market Closes for May 11^th, 2018

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	24831.17	+91.64   +0.37%
S&P 500	2727.72	+4.65   +0.17%
NASDAQ	7402.883	-2.092   -0.03%
TSX	15983.32	+23.82
		+0.15%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22758.48	+261.30
		+1.16%
HANG SENG	31122.06	+312.84
		+1.02%
SENSEX	35535.79	+289.52
		+0.82%
FTSE 100*	7724.55	+23.58
		+0.31%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		2.377		2.399
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.406		2.432
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.9677		2.9604
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.1017		3.1082

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.78146	0.78317
US $	1.27966	1.27686
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.52838	0.65429
US $	1.19437	0.83726

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1318.80	1313.85
Oil
WTI Crude Future	70.70	71.36

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1861, the New York Stock Exchange banned all trading in Confederate stocks and bonds as a sign of patriotic fellowship.
Number of the Day
$158 billion
The amount of stock that S&P 500 companies bought back during the first three months of the year, with 85% of firms reporting, on pace to be a quarterly record
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks posted their best week since February as crude prices posted a second weekly gain, pushing the energy sector to its highest since January.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 24 points or 0.2 percent to 15,983.32 Friday, its sixth straight gain. The benchmark added 1.6 percent for the week.
     Rate-sensitive stocks rose as bond yields retreated, with the telecom and real estate indexes up 0.5 percent. Energy stocks also gained 0.5 percent even as oil prices retreated below $71 a barrel.
     Industrials lost 0.6 percent as New Flyer Industries Inc. slid 2.5 percent to the lowest since January.
     In other moves:
                          Stocks
* Air Canada rose 3.8 percent. The airline is adding capacity on key transcontinental flights as a potential strike looms at competitor WestJet Airlines Ltd.
* Great Canadian Gaming Corp. rose 7.5 percent to a record high, adding to Thursday’s 27 percent gain on strong earnings and two analyst upgrades
* Thomson Reuters Corp. lost 4.5 percent to the lowest since 2015. First-quarter sales missed analyst expectations
                          Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $15.00 discount to WTI
* Gold fell 0.1 percent to $1,320.70 an ounce
                          FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.2 percent to C$1.2788 per U.S. dollar as Canadian job growth stalled in April
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell two basis points to 2.38 percent
US
By Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks edged higher Friday, capping the best week in two months amid growing conviction that inflation will remain tame and as trade tensions eased.
     The S&P 500 Index was buoyed by telecom companies as tech shares weighed on the gauge. The dollar steadied, leaving it little changed for the week, while 10-year Treasury yields held below 3 percent. Emerging-market shares rose for a fifth day, the best streak since January. Oil slipped, but notched a second weekly advance after the U.S. quit the Iran nuclear deal.
     The week saw a bullish tone take hold in equities following a great earnings season for the biggest U.S. companies and removal of some trade anxiety as China seemed to soften its tone. At the same time, investor anxiety about a rapid rise in global interest rates was eased after a tame inflation reading in the U.S. and a dovish policy decision by the Bank of England.
     “What has gotten stocks going again is the reality that maybe rates are not going to be rising to the moon and the dollar is not going to continue to strengthen,” Krishna Memani, the chief investment officer at OppenheimerFunds Inc., said in an interview at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters. “The underlying fundamentals in terms of economic growth, earnings, has been extraordinarily good.”
     Easing geopolitical tensions aided gains in Asian stocks, with Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un set for their landmark meeting in Singapore on June 12. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index edged higher. Malaysian assets trading offshore began to stabilize after the shock election win for the opposition. Argentina’s peso fell to a record low as the country seeks a credit line from the International Monetary Fund.
     These are the main moves in markets:
                          Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.2 percent as of the close of trading in New York.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index was little changed.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.9 percent to the highest in seven weeks.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.6 percent.
                         Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
* The euro increased 0.3 percent to $1.1945.
* The British pound increased 0.2 percent to $1.3543.
* The Japanese yen rose 0.1 percent to 109.3 per dollar.
                         Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose 1 basis point to 2.97 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.55 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield rose 1 basis point to 1.44 percent.
                         Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.1 percent to $70.56 a barrel.
* Gold slipped 0.2 percent to $1,319.20 an ounce.
* Copper was little changed at $3.11 a pound.
–With assistance from Garfield Reynolds, Cormac Mullen, Christopher Anstey, Joe Easton and Robert Brand. 

Have a great weekend.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Answer me in one word.
-William Shakespeare, 1564-1616

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1980: Chrysler Canada saved from bankruptcy

The Poem:

GIRLHOOD
was when I slept in the woods
bareheaded beneath jagged
stars and the membranous
near-misses of bats, when
I tasted watercress,
wild carrot, and sorrel,
when I was known
by the lilac I hid beside,
and when that lilac, burdened
by my expectations of lilacs,
began a journey
without me, as when
the dirt road sang, O,
rugosa rose, farewell,
and ran behind the clipped
white pine hedge into
the immeasurable
heartbreaks of the field.
             -Cecily Parks

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Kindergarten pupils wave national flags as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang reviews the guard of honour with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a welcoming ceremony in Tokyo. Credit: Toru Hanai/Reuters

A model holds The Farnese Blue, an unknown historic blue diamond to be sold for the first time in 300 years, during a preview of Sotheby’s auction sale in Geneva, Switzerland. Credit: Pierre Albouy/Reuters

A new sail if fitted to Wicken Villiage windmill in Cambridgeshire. The windmill which was built in 1813 and is still used to grind grain to make flour is the “only surviving, workable one of its type in the UK”. Credit: Joe Giddens/PA
Market Closes for May 10^th, 2018

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	24739.53	+196.99   +0.80%
S&P 500	2723.07	+25.28   +0.94%
NASDAQ	7404.977	+65.071   +0.89%
TSX	15959.50	+48.69
		+0.31%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22497.18	+88.30
		+0.39%
HANG SENG	30809.22	+273.08
		+0.89%
SENSEX	35246.27	-73.08
		-0.21%
FTSE 100*	7700.97	+38.45
		+0.50%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		2.399		2.393
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.432		2.448
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.9604		3.0042
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.1082		3.1618

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.78317	0.77783
US $	1.27686	1.28562
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.52158	0.65721
US $	1.19166	0.83917

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1313.85	1306.60
Oil
WTI Crude Future	71.36	71.14

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
$12.1 million
The median pay for CEOs of the biggest U.S. companies in 2017, a new post-recession high.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a fifth day, creeping back toward their high for the year, as gains in gambling stocks and an auto parts supplier boosted the benchmark.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 49 points or 0.3 percent to 15,959.50, less than 500 points from the all-time high reached in early January. Consumer discretionary stocks led the gains, rising 1.2 percent as Great Canadian Gaming Corp. jumped 27 percent and The Stars Group Inc. added 9.5 percent. Both stocks hit a record high on strong earnings.
     Magna International Inc., also a member of the consumer discretionary sector, rose 2.7 percent to a record high after beating first-quarter estimates and boosting its forecast for the year.
     In other moves:
                         Stocks
* TMX Group Ltd., the owner of the Toronto Stock Exchange, gained 9.3 percent to a record high. First-quarter results beat estimates and the company boosted its dividend.
* Canadian Tire Corp. slid 5.4 percent, the most in a year, after agreeing to buy Helly Hansen for C$985 million from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
* Open Text Corp. lost 6.3 percent, the most in three years. Earnings missed the lowest estimate but analysts say the results are just a seasonal trend
                         Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $15.20 discount to WTI
* Gold gained 0.7 percent to $1,322.30 an ounce as U.S. consumer prices rose less than forecast in April
                         FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.7 percent to C$1.2766 per U.S. dollar, the strongest in nearly four weeks
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose one basis point to 2.40 percent
US
By Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rallied to a seven-week high while the dollar sank after a weak inflation reading signaled the Federal Reserve won’t need to step up the pace of interest- rate increases.
     Chipmakers paced gains in major American equity benchmarks, while rate-sensitive shares added to the bullish mood as the 10- year Treasury yield slipped to 2.97 percent. A gauge of small- cap stocks set a record and emerging-market shares rallied on the more-favorable outlook for global borrowing costs. The dollar fell the most since March 21, lifting commodities. The pound weakened after the Bank of England held interest rates.
     The U.S. inflation data showed costs for big-ticket items such as automobiles and airfares declined last month, reducing chances that consumer-price increases will run significantly above the Fed’s target. The news energized bulls, with the S&P 500 Index crossing above its 100-day moving average and breaking out of the downward-sloping trendline that’s been in place since late January.
     “The market is breathing a sigh of relief that there was not an upside surprise to the inflation stats,” Peter Boockvar, the chief investment officer of Bleakley Financial Group, wrote in an email to clients.
     Elsewhere, trading in non-deliverable forwards suggested Malaysia’s ringgit will tumble in the wake of the surprise ouster of the country’s ruling party. Developing markets more broadly signaled stability, and the MSCI Emerging Market Index advanced for a fourth day. European shares snapped a four-day winning streak. The New Zealand dollar slid after the central bank left the door open to an interest rate cut as inflation remains contained.
     These are the main moves in markets:
                          Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.9 percent at the close of trading in New York.
* The S&P 600 Small Cap Index added 0.5 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dipped 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index jumped 1.4 percent in its fourth day of gains.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.8 percent to the highest in three weeks.
                          Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index sank 0.7 percent, the first retreat in a week.
* The euro climbed 0.6 percent to $1.1925.
* The British pound fell 0.2 percent to $1.352.
* The Japanese yen advanced 0.3 percent to 109.4 per dollar.
                           Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries sank two basis points to 2.97 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.55 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 1.43 percent.
                           Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate rose 0.3 percent to $71.38 a barrel.
* Copper rallied 1.8 percent to $3.1115 a pound, the highest in two weeks.
* Gold climbed 0.6 percent to $1,320.66 an ounce, the highest in almost two weeks.
–With assistance from Cormac Mullen, Ven Ram, Christopher Anstey, Samuel Potter, Sophie Caronello and Natasha Doff. 

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

 

Carolann

A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.
              -Yogi Berra, 1925-2015

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Peter Pan helps sick children. Not fictionally, financially.

The author J.M. Barrie, who was born on this day in 1860, donated the rights to his most famous creation to the Great Ormond Street children’s hospital in London in 1929. In a front-page report at the time, The New York Times estimated their worth at “roughly $10,000 a year,” which it said was equivalent to a sixth of the hospital’s income.

An undated photograph of J.M. Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan.
Getty Images

It would have been clear that the gift was of lasting value: The boy who never grows up was introduced in 1902, becoming the subject of a hit play two years later, and then a novel. He had already inspired a statue in a London park, and even begun his long career in movies.

But few would have guessed quite how long Peter Pan would pay. The copyright first expired in Britain at the end of 1987, 50 years after Barrie’s death. Within months, however, Parliament passed a measure granting Great Ormond Street a permanent right to royalties from the stage play and adaptations of it.

Peter Pan’s adventures in America are also helping the hospital; according to its website, the U.S. copyright does not expire until 2023.

Peter Robins wrote today’s Back Story., New York Times.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The sun rises at Christchurch Quay in Dorset. Credit: Nick Lucas/SWNS.COM

An aerial view of an avenue crossing fields in Laatzen near Hanover, northern Germany. Credit: Julian Stratenschulte/DPA/AFP/Getty Images

People dance next to the lake in the grounds of Lismore House and Garden as they celebrate Helston Flora Day in Cornwall, England. Credit: Matt Cardy/Getty Images
Market Closes for May 9^th, 2018

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	24542.54	+182.33   +0.75%
S&P 500	2697.79	+25.87   +0.97%
NASDAQ	7339.906	+73.004   +1.00%
TSX	15910.81	+68.10
		+0.43%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22408.88	-99.81
		-0.44%
HANG SENG	30536.14	+133.33
		+0.44%
SENSEX	35319.35	+103.03
		+0.29%
FTSE 100*	7662.52	+96.77
		+1.28%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		2.393		2.352
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.448		2.421
U.S.    10 Year Bond		3.0042		2.9760
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.1618		3.1295

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77783	0.77224
US $	1.28562	1.29493
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.52373	0.65628
US $	1.18520	0.84374

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1306.60	1309.40
Oil
WTI Crude Future	71.14	69.06

Market Commentary:
$ ~On this day in 1901, Northern Pacific railway shares hit $1,000, up from $96 only five weeks earlier, as competing bull and bear factions tried to corner the market in the stock.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed at the highest level since January as crude passed $71 for the first time since 2014.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 68 points or 0.4 percent to 15,910.81. Energy shares rose 1.1 percent as U.S. crude stockpiles shrank and President Donald Trump walked away from a nuclear deal with Iran.
     Kinross Gold Corp. was the biggest decliner on the benchmark, tumbling 11 percent, the most since October 2016, amid uncertainty in both Mauritania and Ghana. The materials sector rose 0.2 percent.
     In other moves:
                          Stocks
* Maxar Technologies Ltd. jumped 14 percent, the most since 2012, after first-quarter revenue beat the highest estimate and the stock was upgraded to outperform at National Bank Financial
* Paramount Resources Ltd. slid 8.8 percent, the most since 2016. The energy company cut its 2018 sales volume outlook
* Spin Master Corp. added 7.3 percent to the highest in two months on better-than-expected quarterly results
                          Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $15.45 discount to WTI
* Gold fell 0.1 percent to $1,313.00 an ounce
                           FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.8 percent to C$1.2855 per U.S. dollar, the most in a month, on stronger oil prices
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose four basis points to 2.39 percent, the highest since 2014
US
By Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced as energy shares rallied with oil on speculation crude supplies may not keep up with demand. Ten-year Treasury yields topped 3 percent.
     West Texas oil climbed above $71 per barrel after an unexpected drop in U.S. stockpiles and as the market came to terms with President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. Bank shares rallied as the 10-year yield spiked. Walmart Inc. weighed on the major gauges after its deal to buy a controlling stake in India’s biggest online seller was met with skepticism. A measure of emerging-market currencies erased its 2018 gains.
     Stocks extended gains in afternoon trading, with the risk- on tone in markets spreading after North Korea’s good-will gesture of releasing U.S. citizens as captives. Still, markets remained bound in a trading range amid the threat of increased geopolitical tension in the Middle East just as concern spreads over the implications of higher Treasury yields and recent dollar strength. A $25 billion auction of 10-year U.S. notes drew yields of 2.995 percent, just short of carrying a 3 percent coupon for the first time in almost seven years.
     “This tug-of-war remains in the market, regardless of the positive headlines on North Korea, regardless of the positive headlines on earnings,” said Quincy Krosby, the chief market strategist at Prudential Financial Inc. “This is a market that has to sort that out, and that 10-year yield flirting with 3 percent again is a reflection of that tug-of-war.”
     Elsewhere, stocks in Europe climbed as the MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell. Indonesia’s rupiah weakened to a two-year low on worries about capital outflows from emerging markets. Turkey’s lira gained after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called a meeting to discuss issues including the exchange rate, fueling speculation that authorities may take measures to stem a market rout. Argentina’s peso fell toward a record low as the government begins meetings with the International Monetary Fund to discuss a possible credit line.
     Some key events coming up this week:
* The Bank of England decides on policy Thursday.
* U.S. inflation data for April is due the same day.
     And these are the main moves in markets:
                           Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index added 1 percent to the highest close since April 18.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8 percent and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1 percent. Small caps lagged behind.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.6 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank 0.4 percent.
                          Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
* The euro slipped 0.1 percent to $1.185.
* The British pound was little changed at $1.3545.
* The Japanese yen fell 0.5 percent to 109.72 per dollar, the weakest in a week.
                          Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 3 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.56 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield increased two basis points to 1.46 percent.
                          Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 3.1 percent to $71.17 a barrel, the highest in more than three years.
* Gold slipped 0.2 percent to $1,311.72 an ounce.
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Yumi Teso, Christopher Anstey, Todd White, Samuel Potter and Janine Wolf.

Have a great night.
 

Be magnificent!

As ever,

 

Carolann

Every man desires to live long, but no man would be old.
                                     -Jonathan Swift, 1667-1745

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this day in 1886, Dr. John S. Pemberton sold the first glass of Coca-Cola at the soda fountain of Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta. Some believe the “tonic” beverage originally gained popularity because it contained trace amounts of real cocaine and extract from the African kola nut, a stimulant and thirst quencher.

1945: VE DAY – Victory in Europe.

Christie’s Images Ltd. 2018

Christie’s New York begins a three-day auction of a Rockefeller family art collection that could be the largest single-owner sale, and the largest charitable one, in history.The house will offer masterpieces by Matisse and Picasso, as well as truckloads of valuable porcelain. Highlights from the collection have been touring the globe to increase anticipation. Above, one of five Monets on offer. -NY Times

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A tractor drives through an apple orchard in Haselau, northern Germany. Credit: The Telegraph

A cicada breaks free from its dirty shell and stretches its wings as it bursts out in its beautiful new green skin on Euboea Island, Greece. Credit: The Telegraph

A Dandelion Seed head framed by the rising Sun is seen in Ditcheat, Somerset. Credit: The Telegraph

The Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala Press Preview at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Credit: The Telegraph
Market Closes for May 8^th, 2018

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	24360.21	+2.89   +0.01%
S&P 500	2671.92	-0.71   -0.03%
NASDAQ	7266.902	+1.689   +0.02%
TSX	15842.71	+34.08
		+0.22%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22508.69	+41.53
		+0.18%
HANG SENG	30402.81	+408.55
		+1.36%
SENSEX	35216.32	+8.18
		+0.02%
FTSE 100*	7565.75	-1.39
		-0.02%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		2.352		2.326
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.421		2.410
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.9760		2.9497
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.1295		3.1221

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77224	0.77621
US $	1.29493	1.28832
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.53629	0.65092
US $	1.18639	0.84290

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1309.40	1309.40
Oil
WTI Crude Future	69.06	70.73

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
$70.29
U.S. crude rose 0.8% to $70.29 a barrel on Monday, breaking the $70 mark for the first time since 2014 amid geopolitical risks and a healthier backdrop.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a third day, boosted by a proposed mining deal and strong pharma earnings.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 34 points or 0.2 percent to 15,842.71. Health-care stocks led the gains, rising 1.6 percent as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. jumped 8.5 percent to the highest since January. Valeant beat estimates with the help of a top-selling gastrointestinal drug.
     Nevsun Resources Ltd. added 17 percent, the most since 2010, after rejecting an offer from Lundin Mining Corp. and saying it has other suitors. Materials stocks rose 0.8 percent.
     In other moves:
                         Stocks
* Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. fell 1.8 percent. Royal Dutch Shell Plc is selling its stake in the oil sands producer for $3.3 billion
* WestJet Airlines Ltd. tumbled 10 percent to the lowest in two years after it said increased spending will outstrip revenue growth
* Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corp. lost 11 percent, the most since 2008. First-quarter earnings missed the lowest analyst estimate
                         Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $15.85 discount to WTI
* Gold was little changed at $1,313.70 an ounce
                         FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.5 percent to C$1.2950 per U.S. dollar as crude prices retreated
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose two basis points to 2.35 percent
US
By Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks were mixed after President Donald Trump’s decision to scrap a nuclear deal with Iran sparked concern it could increase geopolitical tensions. The dollar rose and Treasury yields pushed higher.
     The S&P 500 Index was little changed as banks advanced and utility stocks slumped. West Texas crude sank as much as 4.4 percent before paring the loss in a volatile trading session as investors digested what the Iran move could mean for energy supplies. The greenback strengthened for a third day. Ten-year Treasury yields rose toward 3 percent after JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon warned a climb to 4 percent may be coming.
     Concern about an increase in geopolitical tension is weighing on global sentiment at the same time worries about pricey stocks and rising borrowing costs are bubbling up amid higher Treasury yields and a stronger dollar. Sanctions on Iran could potentially disrupt supplies from OPEC’s third-largest producer and open an uncertain new chapter for the Middle East.
     “I don’t think there’s anything that’s a major surprise — the announcement was well advertised,” said Ernie Cecilia, the chief investment officer at Bryn Mawr Trust Co. “What seems to be a little surprise is that it didn’t allow for a whole lot of other possibilities, if you want to call it that. He was a little more specific, he was pretty straight forward.”
     Elsewhere, Argentina’s peso pared losses after the government was said to be in talks with the International Monetary Fund for a $30 billion flexible credit line to help defend the currency after it dropped to a record. Italian shares tumbled on the prospect for fresh elections that may boost the chances of a populist government taking power. Indonesia’s rupiah sank to its weakest since 2015, and the nation’s government bonds slumped. Turkey’s lira hit another low and the country’s benchmark equity index fell.
     Some key events coming up this week:
* Malaysia holds a general election Wednesday.
* Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hosts South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday.
* There’s a Bank of England policy decision on Thursday.
* U.S. inflation data for April is due the same day.
* Some of the company earnings due include Walt Disney, Petrobras, Marriott, Toyota, Ambev and Deutsche Telekom.
     And these are the main moves in markets:
                           Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index ended the trading day little changed.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.4 percent to the highest in a week.
* Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.2 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.3 percent.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.3 percent to the highest this year.
* The euro declined 0.5 percent to $1.186, the weakest since December.
* The British pound fell 0.1 percent to $1.3544, the weakest in more than four months.
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 109.11 per dollars.
                            Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 2.97 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed three basis points to 0.56 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield increased four basis points to 1.44 percent.
                            Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 1.4 percent to $69.74 a barrel, the first retreat in a week.
* Gold was little changed at $1,314.59 an ounce.
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Janine Wolf, Stephen Engle, Eric Lam, Christopher Anstey, Yakob Peterseil, Samuel Potter, Sophie Caronello and Jessica Summers.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.
                                                -Winston Churchill, 1874-1965

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
May 7, 1824: Premier of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
Pyotr Tchaikovsky, b. 1840
On May 7, 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Rheims, France, to take effect the following day, ending the European conflict of World War II. 
Go to article »

From today’s New York Times:

The happy couple, one a British royal and the other a commoner. A much-anticipated May wedding. 

But this is not Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. It was Princess Margaret, the sister of Queen Elizabeth II, and Antony Armstrong-Jones, a photographer, who were married on May 6, 1960. 

Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones at Buckingham Palace on their wedding day, May 6, 1960.
Central Press, via Agence France-Presse 

Then, as now, there was heightened interest across the Atlantic, and The Times had a front-page photograph and article.

Our coverage included descriptions of the crowds who waited to see the couple on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, tales of royal weddings that did not go smoothly and a look at the myriad gifts from near and far.

More than a dozen short items covered the details of the day, including tiara trouble and a bomb scare.

We also had drawings of the guests and the clothes, including a going-away hat shaped “like a soufflé.”

And finally, a television piece marveled at the BBC’s coverage and noted, “Thanks to videotape and jet airplanes, pictures of live quality were shown on North American screens only six to seven hours after the event had occurred in London.”

Ultimately, the story ended sadly. The couple split 16 years later.

Sarah Anderson wrote Today’s Back Story.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Mike Raphael with a Golden Eagle during the Whitby Abbey Raphael Historic Falconry Fly. Credit: The Telegraph

A new fissure spraying lava fountains as high as about 230 feet (70m), according to United States Geological Survey, is shown from Luana Street in Leilani Estates subdivision on Kilauea Volcano’s lower East Rift Zone in Hawaii. Credit: The Telegraph

As darkness in the Lake District, the bright lights from hundreds of walkers’ head torches cascade down the ridge line of Catbells, in Cumbria last night during the Lakeland Festival of Light. Hundreds of volunteers scaled the famous Lake District fell at sunset to form a chain of light from the 1,480ft summit to the edge of Derwentwater near Keswick. The event was organized by the Lakeland Mountain Guides to raise funds for PHASE worldwide, a charity supporting projects in Nepal. Credit: The Telegraph

A sculpture of a cyclist in pink welcomes Giro d’Italia riders near Sde Boker, Israel. Credit: The Telegraph

An installation by German conceptual artist, Ottmar Hoerl, made of 500 small scale sculptures featuring German-born physicist Albert Einstein on the Muensterplatz square in Ulm, Einstein’s birth city. Credit: The Telegraph
Market Closes for May 7^th, 2018

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	24357.32	+94.81   +0.39%
S&P 500	2672.62	+9.20   +0.35%
NASDAQ	7265.215	+55.597   +0.77%
TSX	15801.59	+72.19
		+0.46%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22467.16	-5.62
		-0.03%
HANG SENG	29994.26	+67.76
		+0.23%
SENSEX	35028.14	+292.76
		+0.84%
FTSE 100*	7567.14	+64.45
		+0.86%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		2.326		2.329
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.410		2.407
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.9497		2.9478
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.1221		3.1213

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77621	0.77874
US $	1.28832	1.28412
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.53620	0.65096
US $	1.19241	0.83864

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1309.40	1315.05
Oil
WTI Crude Future	70.73	69.72

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed at the highest since Feb. 1 but pared earlier gains as crude prices retreated back below $70 a barrel.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 79 points or 0.5 percent to 15,808.63 after earlier rising as much as 0.8 percent. Energy shares, which had gained as much as 1.7 percent, ended the day up 0.4 percent.
     Technology stocks led to the upside, adding 1.4 percent. Constellation Software Inc. rose 2.1 percent to a record, while Shopify Inc. gained 2.1 percent.
     In other moves:
                         Stocks
* Dorel Industries Inc. fell 7.3 percent to the lowest since 2012. Two analysts downgraded the stock, with one saying it may not have enough cash to fund its dividend this year
* Covalon Technologies Ltd. jumped 53 percent after announcing a series of contracts in the Middle East worth C$100 million over three years
* Ensign Energy Services Inc. lost 4.1 percent after reporting a wider-than-expected loss and revenue that missed estimates
                         Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $15.85 discount to WTI
* Gold fell 0.1 percent to $1,314.10 an ounce
                         FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.4 percent to C$1.2892 per U.S. dollar, the weakest in five weeks
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield was little changed at 2.33 percent
US
By Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks edged higher following a spate of mergers and acquisitions while the dollar climbed to the strongest level this year. Crude rose past $70 a barrel before pairing gains.
     Tech shares were the best performers in the U.S., lifting the S&P 500 Index. Oil, which reached its highest since November 2014 on speculation the U.S. would pull out of the Iran nuclear accord, erased the advance after President Donald Trump said he would announce a decision Tuesday and amid a report that European diplomats made progress on a deal to persuade Trump not to withdraw. Energy stocks went along for the ride.
     “Sentiment had gotten extremely bullish” on energy, said Matt Maley, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. “It just seems to ripe for a sell-on-the-news reaction as soon as Trump came out with that tweet.”
     The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed, though trading volumes were light thanks to a U.K. holiday. The euro weakened as 10- year Treasury yields hovered near 2.95 percent.
     Mergers and acquisitions helped boost investor sentiment Monday, with Blackstone Group LP agreeing to buy Gramercy Property Trust in a cash deal valued at $7.6 billion, Nestle SA spending $7.15 billion for the right to market Starbucks Corp. products and Elliott Management Corp offering to buy Athenahealth Inc. for $6.5 billion. Earnings season continues, and data due this week may give traders a signal on the outlook for inflation.
     Elsewhere, investors are closely following emerging-market assets after many extended their losses last week. Developing- nation stocks edged higher and currencies were weaker. Both Turkey’s lira and its equities retreated. Argentina’s peso seemed to stabilize following a tumultuous week of unscheduled central bank interest-rate increases.
     Some key events coming up this week:
* Chinese trade data is due Tuesday.
* It’s also the Australian annual budget Tuesday.
* Malaysia holds a general election Wednesday.
* Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hosts South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday.
* There’s a Bank of England policy decision on Thursday.
* U.S. inflation data for April is due the same day.
* Trump’s Iran-deal deadline is this week.
* Some of the company earnings due include Walt Disney, Petrobras, Marriott, Toyota, Ambev and Deutsche Telekom.
     And these are the main moves in markets:
                          Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.3 percent as of the close of trading in New York.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.6 percent to a three- month high.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.3 percent.
* Germany’s DAX Index climbed 1 percent to the highest in more than three months.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.2 percent, the first advance in a week.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2 percent to the highest in more than four months.
* The euro decreased 0.3 percent to $1.1925, the weakest since December.
* The British pound gained 0.2 percent to $1.3559, the first advance in almost two weeks.
* The Japanese yen rose 0.1 percent to 109.04 per dollar.
                            Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 2.95 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.525 percent.
                            Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.1 percent to $69.80 a barrel.
* Gold was little changed at $1,314.49 an ounce.
–With assistance from Cormac Mullen, Samuel Potter, Christopher Anstey, Todd White and Katherine Greifeld. 

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

 

Carolann

A schedule defends from chaos and whim.
                       -Annie Dillard, B. 1945

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday!

On May 4, 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on anti-war protesters at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others.
Go to article »

Tomorrow is Cinco De Mayo – a good excuse for Corona with lime 🙂 !

From The New York Times:

Cinco de Mayo, which commemorates an underdog victory over France in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, isn’t widely celebrated in Mexico. 

The victory was short-lived, as France later occupied Mexico for a few years. But Cinco de Mayo was still celebrated in Puebla and, perhaps more significantly, by Mexican-Americans north of the border. 

The holiday gained popularity in the 20th century, and in 1989, an ad campaign by an importer of beers such as Modelo and Corona was introduced around the holiday.

The commercialization of Cinco de Mayo (and criticism of cultural stereotypes) has since taken off. The research firm Nielsen reported that in 2013, Americans bought more than $600 million worth of beer during the week of Cinco de Mayo, more than during the weeks of the Super Bowl or St. Patrick’s Day. 

Claudio E. Cabrera wrote today’s Back Story.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Competitors ride their bikes during Stage 5 of the 13th edition of Titan Desert 2018 mountain biking race around Merzouga in Morocco. Credit: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images

An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man dances around a bonfire in Jerusalem’s Mea Shearim neighbourhood during celebrations for the Jewish holiday of Lag BaOmer, marking the anniversary of the death of Talmudic sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai approximately 1,900 years ago. In a night-long vigil thousands of worshippers will light large bonfires and visit the final resting place of Bar Yochai, who is revered as one of Judaism’s great sages. Credit: The Telegraph

The world’s largest Victorian glasshouse reopens at Kew Gardens following renovations lasting five years. The magnificent 4,880 square-metre structure is the world’s largest surviving Victorian glasshouse, home to 10,000 plants (1,500 species) from across the world. Credit: The Telegraph
Market Closes for May 4^th, 2018

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	24262.51	+332.36   +1.39%
S&P 500	2663.42	+33.69   +1.28%
NASDAQ	7209.617	+121.466   +1.71%
TSX	15729.40	+107.93
		+0.69%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22472.78	-35.25
		-0.16%
HANG SENG	29926.50	-386.87
		-1.28%
SENSEX	34915.38	-187.76
		-0.53%
FTSE 100*	7567.14	+64.45
		+0.86%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		2.329		2.326
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.407		2.406
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.9478		2.9548
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.1213		3.1205

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77874	0.77840
US $	1.28412	1.28469
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.53721	0.65053
US $	1.19709	0.83536

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1315.05	1304.20
Oil
WTI Crude Future	69.72	68.43

Market Commentary:
$$ On this day in 1979, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. completed the first modern leveraged buyout using high-yield junk bonds–a $381 million deal to take Houdaille Industries private.
Number of the Day
40,000
The approximate number of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders from around the world who are expected to gather in Omaha, Neb. for the company’s annual meeting this weekend. They will hear Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO, and Vice Chairman Charles Munger discuss the business and answer questions.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a fourth week, the longest streak of gains since November, hitting their highest close since Feb. 1.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 108 points or 0.7 percent to 15,729.40 Friday, bringing its weekly gain to 0.4 percent. All sectors were in the green, led by a 1.5 percent gain in industrials. Bombardier Inc. added 3.3 percent, reaching the highest since 2015, after Thursday’s land sale and strong results.
     The energy sector rose 1.1 percent as West Texas Intermediate futures neared $70 a barrel. Pembina Pipeline Corp. gained 6.2 percent, the most since 2016, after earnings beat estimates.
     In other moves:
                          Stocks
* Martinrea International Inc. gained 10 percent to the highest since 2007. Results and guidance beat analyst expectations
* WestJet Airlines Ltd. fell 1.5 percent. Pilots said they’ll picket for a contract next week
* Crescent Point Energy Corp. lost 1.9 percent. Shareholders voted to elect all the company’s nominees to the board, rejecting an activist slate
                          Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $16.10 discount to WTI
* Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,314.70 an ounce
                          FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1 percent to C$1.2859 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield was little changed at 2.33 percent
US
By Sarah Ponczek and Janine Wolf
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks logged their biggest advance in almost four weeks after the country’s jobless rate hit an 18- year low. The dollar finished higher while Treasury yields flattened out as the market assessed the impact of America’s inconclusive trade talks with China.
    The S&P 500 Index closed higher Friday but failed to recoup its losses for the week. Apple Inc. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. were among the benchmark’s biggest advancers as the tech and financial sectors led the charge.
     U.S. hiring rebounded less than anticipated in April but the unemployment rate dropped below 4 percent for the first time since 2000. Wage gains unexpectedly cooled, suggesting the job market still has slack to absorb. The report’s implications for monetary policy will be eyed after the Federal Reserve kept rates on hold this week, saying inflation is near its target without suggesting any need to accelerate its hiking path.
     “This was a really solid number — it shows all the job growth that the economy needs without wages picking up, which would be detrimental to margins,” Sameer Samana, global technical and equity strategist for Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said by phone. “It should all be supportive of further consumption, which should keep the economy going at a very steady pace without inflation being a major issue, which historically has been very good for investments.”
     Markets were also following talks between U.S. and Chinese officials in Beijing intently for signs that the world’s two biggest economies are making progress on trade, but there’s been limited advancement so far. U.S. officials asked China to bring forward reductions in its trade surplus, raising the hurdle for any overarching deal, while state-run news agency Xinhua said the two parties agreed on some issues but disagreed on others.
     Health-care and technology companies led gains in the Stoxx Europe 600 index as the euro slipped amid mounting concern about the region’s economic outlook. Financials recovered some earlier losses incurred after disappointing earnings reports from BNP Paribas SA, Societe Generale SA and HSBC Holdings Plc. Stocks from Sydney to Hong Kong retreated earlier. Core European bonds declined.
     Meanwhile, Turkey’s lira continued its descent on Friday, hitting a record low against the dollar amid concern that monetary policy remains too loose to deal with an overheating economy. Most emerging-market currencies declined against the greenback.
     West Texas oil hit a three-year high as traders weighed an increase in stockpiles against concern about U.S. sanctions on Iran. Gold gained.
     Some key events coming up during the remainder of this week:
* Berkshire Hathaway holds its annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday.
     And these are the main moves in markets:
                           Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index gained 1.3 percent as of 3:25 p.m. New York time
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.6 percent.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index advanced 0.9 percent.
* Germany’s DAX Index jumped 1 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained less than 0.05 percent.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.2 percent.
* The euro dipped 0.3 percent to $1.1957.
* The British pound decreased 0.3 percent to $1.3535, its eighth straight decline.
* The Japanese yen gained 0.1 percent to 109.10 per dollar.
                           Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell less than one basis point to 2.94 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 0.54 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield gained one basis point to 1.4 percent.
                           Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 1.9 percent to $69.76 a barrel, the highest in more than three years.
* Gold gained 0.2 percent to $1,314.41 an ounce.
* LME copper declined less than 0.05 to $6,826 a metric ton.
–With assistance from Adam Haigh, Katia Dmitrieva and Joe Easton.

Have a great weekend

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us
to an understanding of ourselves.
                                       -Carl Jung, 1875-1961

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this day in 1952, Lt. Col. Joseph Fletcher walked to the exact geographic location of the North Pole, likely the first person in history to do so.

-From today’s New York Times:
The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam opened as a museum 58 years ago today.
Nowadays, more than 1.2 million visitors flock to the museum every year, but in the 1950s, the canal house was on the verge of demolition.

The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, where she and her family hid during the Holocaust.
Ilvy Njiokiktjien for The New York Times

The building was saved by the Anne Frank Foundation, founded in 1957 to preserve the place where Anne had written her diary.

Anne lived in the annex of the canal house with her parents, sister and four others from July 1942 until August 1944, when they were arrested during a Nazi raid. (It’s still unclear who betrayed the family, but an F.B.I. agent reopened the case in 2017.)

The museum faces a practical challenge: The tiny, cramped attic can accommodate only so many people at once. It’s under renovation, and preparing to educate a new generation about the Holocaust and anti-Semitism.

Otto Frank — Anne’s father and the only member of the family to survive the Holocaust — attended the opening in 1960, saying he hoped that the museum would be a place where Anne’s ideals “find their realization.”

Claire Moses wrote today’s Back Story.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Competitors ride their bikes during Stage 4 of the 13^th edition of the Titan Desert 2018 mountain biking race between Boumalne Dades and Merzouga in Morocco. The Titan Desert 2018 is 600 kilometre mountain bike race completed over six days, snaking between Boumalne Dades, at the foot-slopes of the High Atlas summits, and Erfoud, an oasis town in the Sahara Desert. Credit: The Telegraph

Performers give a powered parachutes air show on the opening ceremony of an air sports carnival held in Hengshui City, China. Credit: The Telegraph

Men look at the Dead Sea Scrolls found in Qumran caves in the Judean Desert and dated around 120 BC, during a visit to the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of hundreds of biblical texts in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek discovered 45 years ago in the Qumran Caves near the Dead Sea. Credit: The Telegraph
Market Closes for May 3^rd, 2018

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	23930.15	+5.17   +0.02%
S&P 500	2629.73	-5.94   -0.23%
NASDAQ	7088.152	-12.744   -0.18%
TSX	15621.47	-6.46
		-0.04%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22472.78	-35.25
		-0.16%
HANG SENG	30313.37	-410.51
		-1.34%
SENSEX	35103.14	-73.28
		-0.21%
FTSE 100*	7502.69	-40.51
		-0.54%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		2.326		2.362
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.406		2.435
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.9548		2.9738
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.1205		3.1502

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77840	0.77643
US $	1.28469	1.28795
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.54019	0.64927
US $	1.19888	0.83411

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1304.20	1307.10
Oil
WTI Crude Future	68.43	67.93

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks were little changed amid a barrage of earnings, with Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and BCE Inc. creating pressure to the downside, offset by strength in Waste Connections Inc. and Manulife Financial Corp.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 6 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 15,621.47. Telecom shares were the biggest decliners, losing 0.9 percent as BCE fell 1.7 percent on weaker- than-expected unit revenue growth. The energy index slid 0.6 percent, with Canadian Natural Resources down 2.2 percent.
     Waste Connections gained 4.3 percent, the most since January 2016 amid broadly strong results in the sector. Manulife rose 1.4 percent, bucking a decline in financials, on improving Asian results.
     In other moves:
                         Stocks
* Norbord Inc. lost 6.2 percent, the most since September, after first-quarter results missed estimates
* Shopify Inc. gained 7.8 percent, the most since Valentine’s Day. The stock fell 6.3 percent over the previous two days amid slowing growth metrics
* Gildan Activewear Inc. added 4 percent, the most since 2016, following an upgrade to buy at TD Securities
                        Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $15.90 discount to WTI
* Gold rose 0.5 percent to $1,312.70 an ounce, the first gain this week
                        FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.2 percent to C$1.2851 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell 3 basis points to 2.33 percent after Canada’s trade deficit unexpectedly widened to a record in March
US
By Sarah Ponczek and Janine Wolf
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rallied back from a four-week low, with major averages bouncing off of key technical levels, but still ended down for the second straight day.
     The S&P 500 recovered more than 1 percent from session lows, buoyed by tech shares. The rebound came after the gauge slumped through its 200-day moving average, a level that has provided downside support five times since February. The rally was hampered by falling Treasury yields, which weighed on financial firms.
     Investors are still digesting the Federal Reserve’s latest decision and await Friday’s monthly jobs report for clues on the strength of the world’s largest economy.
     “What we’re faced with here is a continuation of a strong economy, strong earnings and inflation creep that’s spooking the market on the fixed income side overall the last several months,” Chad Morganlander, a portfolio manager at Washington Crossing Advisors, said by phone. “Now, that to me is the thematic that’s going to play out not only today but going into the jobs number.”
     Materials shares gained as trade talks between the U.S. and China got underway Thursday, but both sides dialed back expectations. Beijing won’t agree to preconditions that include abandoning its advanced manufacturing program and agreeing to cut the trade gap by a fixed amount, a Chinese official said. American delegates said earlier that a breakthrough is unlikely, and they might leave early if unsatisfied. Talks are expected to resume on Friday.
     Investors are also weighing the meaning of the latest Fed gathering. The U.S. central bank kept rates on hold as expected on Wednesday, admitting inflation is near target without suggesting any need to accelerate its gradual hiking path.
     More data points are rolling in: The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in March by the most in two years, while last week’s unemployment filings were below estimates and productivity gains remained lukewarm in the first quarter. Growth in U.S. service industries cooled in April to a four-month low and hiring eased, adding to signs the economy is off to a softer start this quarter, an Institute for Supply Management survey showed Thursday.
     European equities retreated following their rally a day earlier. In Asia, Hong Kong stocks underperformed just as Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp. filed for what’s expected to be the world’s biggest IPO since 2014.
     West Texas oil gained as traders weighed a rise in stockpiles against concern about U.S. sanctions on Iran. Gold advanced.
     Some key events coming up during the remainder of this week:
* The European Commission will present its spring economic forecasts, including growth, inflation, debt and deficit projections.
* Payroll gains in the U.S. probably picked up in April, with the unemployment rate forecast to drop to 4 percent, according to surveys of economists before the data reports due Friday.
* Earnings season continues, with Alibaba and HSBC Holdings Plc on Friday.
* Reserve Bank of Australia releases its quarterly update of growth and inflation forecasts on Friday.
* Berkshire Hathaway holds its annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday.
     And these are the main moves in markets:
                          Stocks
* S&P 500 Index fell 0.2 percent as of 4:02 p.m. New York time, to the lowest in more than a week.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.7 percent, the largest drop in a week.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index declined 0.5 percent, the first retreat in more than a week.
* Germany’s DAX Index sank 0.9 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index decreased 0.9 percent to its lowest in a week.
                          Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index sank 0.3 percent.
* The euro climbed 0.3 percent to $1.1983.
* The British pound declined less than 0.05 percent to $1.357.
* The Japanese yen jumped 0.6 percent to 109.20 per dollar, the largest climb in almost six weeks.
                          Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased two basis points to 2.95 percent, the lowest in almost two weeks.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell five basis points to 0.53 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined seven basis points to 1.39 percent.
                          Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 0.8 percent to $68.46 a barrel.
* Gold jumped 0.5 percent to $1,311.78 an ounce.
* LME copper advanced 0.1 percent to $6,827 a metric ton.
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Adam Haigh and Samuel Potter. 

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

 

Carolann

Don’t knock the weather.  If it didn’t change once in a while, nine
out of ten people couldn’t start a conversation.
                                               -Kin Hubbard, 1868-1930

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
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Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

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